Mandhana's India eye another sweep as ODI series against Zimbabwe begins

Smriti Mandhana leads India as full-time ODI captain for the first time as the women begin a three-ODI series against Zimbabwe in Vadodara on Friday. Jemimah Rodrigues is out injured; Harmanpreet Kaur arrives in form after her 91 off 41 balls.

India's women begin their three-match ODI series against Zimbabwe at the BCA Stadium in Kotambi, Vadodara, on Friday, October 23, with Smriti Mandhana leading the side in her first assignment as full-time ODI captain. The reigning ODI world champions swept the T20I leg 3-0 and will target another clean sweep, with the matches starting at 2 pm IST on October 23, 25 and 28.

The batting line-up gets a boost from Harmanpreet Kaur's return to form after her 91 off 41 balls in the final T20I, but India must cope without Jemimah Rodrigues, sidelined by a hamstring injury. That opens up the No. 3 spot, with Harleen Deol and Pratika Rawal among the contenders, while Shafali Verma and Mandhana form a strong opening pair and left-arm spinner Shree Charani leads the bowling plans.

Zimbabwe, playing their first-ever bilateral series against India, showed promise in patches despite losing all three T20Is, with Sharne Mayers, Kelis Ndhlovu and Beloved Biza's six wickets among the positives. India start as favourites, but the series will also be a chance to test combinations and build depth in the 50-over format.